tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28345438176168833092016-05-18T20:45:15.100-07:00L&T Financial Services SeniorsShibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-4079578811063596432009-04-01T01:51:00.000-07:002015-07-08T03:10:28.247-07:00Pygmalion effect<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Anand Gore shared this interesting poster. Its beautiful and gives an apt example about the possibilities we can explore, if we believe in them.<br /><br />Its called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect">'Pygmalion effect' </a>or the 'self-fulfilling prophecy'.<br /><br />Definitely worth a read and due consideration!! It has immense possibilities for you and people who work with you!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SdMr8z7EXJI/AAAAAAAADVQ/pyOpcAUrOY0/s1600-h/ATT00001.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="478" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319643908584791186" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SdMr8z7EXJI/AAAAAAAADVQ/pyOpcAUrOY0/s640/ATT00001.jpg" style="display: block; height: 299px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="640" /></a><br /><div><div>All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose. </div><div><a href="https://webmail.lntfinsvcs.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=835647cfb3214478ad7947f8f83eb04c&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fgetresponse.com%2fclick.html%3fx%3da62a%26lc%3dQEjp%26mc%3d3%26s%3dmTfq3%26y%3df%26" target="_blank">- Brian Tracy</a></div></div></div>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-67514631857909070462009-06-11T21:12:00.000-07:002009-06-11T21:16:37.913-07:00Influence- Paralysis of analysis<strong>When Expert Advice Creates a Paralysis of Analysis</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SjHV-1zh3qI/AAAAAAAADXY/fgSfr0PVsnU/s1600-h/Risk+advisory+services.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346289508237303458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 124px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SjHV-1zh3qI/AAAAAAAADXY/fgSfr0PVsnU/s400/Risk+advisory+services.gif" border="0" /></a><br />Usually, a communicator’s purpose is to develop and send a message that alters the attitudes, decisions, or behaviors of recipients. The critical question, of course, is how best to arrange it. Although social psychologists have provided many important insights into this matter, one of the most valuable is offered by Anthony Greenwald in his <strong><em>“cognitive response model,”</em></strong> which represents a subtle but critical shift in thinking about persuasion. According to this model, the <em>best indication of how much change a communication will produce lies not in what it says but, rather, in what the recipient says to him-or herself as a result of receiving the message.</em><br /><br />Earlier approaches to producing change emphasized the importance of the message itself—its clarity, structure, logic and so on—because it was thought that the recipient’s comprehension and learning of the message content were critical to persuasion. Although this is certainly true, the cognitive response model added an important insight by suggesting that the message is not directly responsible for change. Instead, the direct cause is the self-talk—the internal cognitive responses—people engage in after being exposed to the message. A good deal of research supports the model. For instance, in one of Anthony Greenwald’s persuasion experiments, audience members’ attitude change on a topic wasn’t related so much to what they recalled about the elements of the persuasive appeal as what they recalled about the comments they’d made to themselves when experiencing those elements.<br /><br />Encouraging Positive Self-talk. What are the implications of this view for the way you should fashion a persuasive attempt? Let’s suppose you want to write letter to citizens of your town supporting lower highway speed limits. The most general implication is that you would be foolish to structure the attempt without simultaneously thinking about what your audience members would say to themselves in response to the letter.<br /><br />First, you want to find ways to stimulate positive self-talk to your letter. This means that besides considering features of your intended message (for example, the strength and logic of the arguments), you should take into account an entirely different set of factors that are likely to spur approving responses to the message. For instance, you may want to delay the mailing of your letter until your local newspaper reports a rash of highway speeding deaths; that way, when your letter arrives, its message will gain validity in the minds of the recipients because of its good fit with other information. Or you might want to increase the favorability of cognitive responses to your letter by printing it professionally on high quality paper because people make the assumption that the more care and expense a communicator has put into a persuasion campaign, the more the communicator believes in its validity.<br /><br />Inhibiting Counterarguments. But, even more importantly than trying to ensure that your message creates positive self-talk, you should also think about how to avoid negative self-talk—especially in the form of internal counterarguments against it.<br /><br />Persuasion researchers have routinely shown that the counterarguments audience members construct in response to a message can devastate its effectiveness. Thus, you might want to include in your letter a quote from an acknowledged traffic safety expert asserting that higher speed limits greatly increase automobile fatalities.<br /><br />A recent brain-imaging study (Engelman, Capra, Noussair, &amp; Berns, 2009) tells us why such a step would work. Participants in the study were asked to make a series of unfamiliar financial choices some of which were accompanied by advice from an expert source (a prominent economist). When the economist’s guidance was available, choices were powerfully affected by this expert’s advice. The reason was revealed in the brain activation patterns of the participants. In the presence of expert advice, the areas of the participants’ brains linked to critical thinking and counterarguing flat-lined.<br /><br />These findings help explain why expert communicators are so effective. It’s not that people consider a legitimate authority’s position merely a single important factor that, when combined with other important factors, tips the balance in favor of one choice over another. Instead, especially when they are unsure of themselves, people allow the authority’s opinion to dominate the other factors—indeed, even shutting down cognitive consideration of those other factors. As one of the study’s authors said in describing how his findings challenged the traditional model of rational decision-making, “In this [traditional] worldview, people take advice, integrate it with their own information, and come to a decision. If that were actually true, we’d have seen activity in brain regions that guide decisions. But, what we found is that when someone receives expert advice, that activity went away.”<br /><br />Project and protect. Two lessons emerge, both of which reinforce points made in previous Inside Influence Reports. First, because people frequently disengage their critical thinking/counterarguing powers and defer to expert advice, communicators who can lay claim to relevant expertise would be fools to fail to make that expertise clear early in the messaging process. Although simple, it’s surprising how often otherwise savvy communicators don’t take this step. In addition, we should be sure to make known the relevant credentials of other members of our organization with whom audience members may be interacting. Forgetting to creditialize ourselves or our colleagues before an influence attempt is launched is a serious mistake that is all-too frequently made.<br /><br />Second, besides projecting our expert standing into the consciousness of an audience, it is as important to protect that status by conveying our background, experience, and skills honestly without exaggeration or fabrication. If we overstate our know-how and are later discovered to have been deceptive in this regard, we will likely lose the ability to promote our expertise convincingly in the future, even along those dimensions where we can fairly claim it. And, as we can see from the results of the Engelman et al. (2009) brain-imaging research, the advantage of having an expert’s reputation is much too valuable to squander in a less than truthful self-presentation. Not only would such a self-presentation be wrong ethically, it would be wrongheaded practically.<br /><br /><strong>Source:</strong> Engelman, J. B., Capra, C. M., Noussair, C., and Berns, G. S. (2009). Expert financial advice neurobiologically offloads financial decision-making under risk. Public Library of Science One, 4, e4957, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004957.Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-38391640747100932812009-03-16T00:58:00.000-07:002009-03-30T01:15:31.298-07:00What were they thinking? Unconventional wisdom about management<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313692291089050514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/Sb4G_FAYK5I/AAAAAAAAC5M/YTjEjqCV2h4/s400/JeffreyPfeffer(160x190).jpg" border="0" /><a href="http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/pfeffer/">Dr. Pfeffer</a> (he’s the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Stanford) has written an interesting book on management wisdom. Its called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Were-They-Thinking-Unconventional/dp/1422103129">‘What were they thinking? Unconventional wisdom about management.<br /></a><br />He refers to an experiment he does on a regular basis with his executive students. He will go up to one &amp; say, “Assume that you work in my company &amp; that you are who you are- a competent, experienced, hardworking, intelligent individual, doing your best to do your job as you think you should. Now I come up to you &amp; say, ‘Our organization has fallen on hard times- which, by the way, may be because of strategic mistakes you had no part in making- and in order to restore profitability &amp; financial viability, we need to cut salaries &amp; other employee benefits, by about 25%.’ How would you feel about this, and what are you going to do in response?”<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313694042050728370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 124px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/Sb4Ik_2LEbI/AAAAAAAAC5U/6g-nAg2uY3o/s400/Pay+cut.gif" border="0" /><br />He says ‘I have never once had an executive respond by thanking me for making the tough decision required to keep the organization economically viable. Instead I get one of the two responses. The first, often communicated with a reasonable amount of anger &amp; emotion, is that the person is immediately going to look for another job &amp; leave. The second response, if I add that general conditions of the job marker preclude such a move, is that he is going to with-hold efforts &amp; ideas, cut back on what he does, &amp; maybe find ways of getting back at management by intentionally messing things up.<br /><br />Note what cutting salaries does beyond the immediate benefits of reducing the wage expense. First, it drives people to leave. And who is likely to be able to find another job? Usually, the best people- those who have the most skills, experience, and the highest levels of performance. As the best people leave, turning the company around becomes more difficult, because turn-arounds require insight &amp; skill, &amp; both are being lost.<br /><br />Second, cutting salaries creates a desire of the part of those who remain to passively (by slacking) or actively (by sabotaging) harm the company….<br /><br />Read the book. Its available in our library!Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-3166930512438988982009-03-16T23:05:00.000-07:002009-03-23T07:02:47.066-07:00Budgeting: What's wrong?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SceVetf2T1I/AAAAAAAADU4/QsAO814YHQs/s1600-h/budget+3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316382239975952210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SceVetf2T1I/AAAAAAAADU4/QsAO814YHQs/s400/budget+3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div></div><div></div><div>What’s wrong with having budgets?</div><div><br /></div><p>Well, lots of things...</p><ul><li>It takes away a lot of management time</li><li>Expensive: Ford Motor Company spent $1.2 billion annually on its budgeting process</li><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316382230953170098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SceVeL4plLI/AAAAAAAADUo/jofzhRt6VNU/s400/budget+1.gif" border="0" /><br /><li>A survey showed that budgeting consumed between 20-30 % of senior executives' time</li><li>A Stanford professor says that a few companies avail themselves of the data collected during the budgeting process to actually understand their business models and what actually drives success</li></ul><p> </p><ul><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316382235986367250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SceVeeoqExI/AAAAAAAADUw/ZBHexVtai-w/s400/budget+2.gif" border="0" /><br /><li>May drive unproductive behaviour. How? Evaluation &amp; payouts to senior executives are based on whether the budgets are met/exceeded. Hence, they have every incentive to set targets that they can meet or, even better, exceed, while the boards will try to set ambitious goals... So whats the end result? The process rewards forecasting ability, and also the ability to negotiate with one's bosses</li><li>Zero based budgeting is more of a myth. Everybody focuses on what the company achieved last year...</li><li>Too much focus on the budget target: There is an example of a company not spending money fearing that they will miss the budget target...</li><li>Another problem is that the budgetary targets is that its based on forecasting ability and negotiation. Its possible to hit the targets while losing market share, falling behind technologically, and even going broke</li></ul><div><br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316382240812559938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 378px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 343px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SceVewnT7kI/AAAAAAAADVA/LxTrSB6b8jg/s400/budget+4.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p>The obvious solution is to use budgets as rough guidelines for planning &amp; forecasting, but to base assessments of executives, depts, and companies on indicators that more fully capture relative performance vis-a-vis external competitors.... is it growing faster, is it gaining or losing market share, is it out-performing its competiton in bringing new products &amp; services to the market? Is it attracting &amp; retaining customers &amp; employees</p><p>The absence of rigid budget adherence is not the same as financial anarchy! Instead of spending too much time in meetings where people weigh past performance against budgetary goals, it can be more productive to focus on recent product and customer successes &amp; failures, whats been learnt, &amp; how the company can do things to be more productive/effective in the future...</p><br /><p><strong><em>Adapted from 'What were they thinking? Unconventional wisdom' written by Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer</em></strong></p></div>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-35226929741720969132009-03-02T22:12:00.000-08:002009-03-02T22:14:36.077-08:00International Women's Day: 08 MarchAnnually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more...<br /><br />Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages...<br /><br />08 March is a Sunday. We thought of celebrating IWD on 7th itself (its a surprise so shush...) along with the exclusive women's event- LPL Throw Ball Championship!!<br /><br />Wouldn't it be amazing if you personally are present to cheer up the girls? I think that would make their day!!Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-5019800107988085922009-02-12T20:16:00.000-08:002009-02-12T20:34:48.249-08:00So what does a mentor do?<p>The competency assessment for Senior Managers and above has been completed.<br /></p><p>The next stage is to create individual plans for them. The superiors have a very significant role to play as a mentor to this set of employees.</p><p><strong>So what does a mentor do?</strong></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302134202694666706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SZT29ycQidI/AAAAAAAAC3M/OWbp-zTZeQc/s400/boss+who+reads.gif" border="0" /><br />A mentor helps to induct, orientate and develop the teaching and learning skills of the mentee by: </p><ul><li>Attending regular meetings with the mentee </li><li>Being well-prepared for meetings with the mentee </li><li>Helping the mentee to set the agenda for discussions </li><li>Making oneself available on an ad hoc basis to freely provide appropriate support and guidance </li><li>Developing, monitoring and reviewing an Individual Learning Plan with the mentee </li><li>Initiating reflective dialogue with the mentee, particularly about teaching and learning </li><li> Sharing, exploring and reflecting on teaching and learning pedagogies </li><li>Listening, clarifying, reflecting back and discussing </li><li>Acting as a sounding board </li><li>Conducting developmental non-graded observation(s) of the mentee </li><li>Being observed by the mentee </li><li>Facilitating the mentee to observe others </li><li>Providing constructive feedback after observation </li><li>Observing the confidential nature of the relationship and the dialogue arising within it </li><li>Meetings with other mentors </li><li>Attending relevant training to improve one’s own performance and skills </li><li>Sharing information to the mentee about continuing professional development and opportunities </li><li>Having a duty of care towards the mentee and helping them to deal with any emotional responses triggered by the training process </li></ul>Sounds like a BIG list? Huge responsibility?<br /><br />Yes, it is...Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-7148735488786780152009-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:002009-01-22T20:14:55.458-08:00What New Year Resolution Can REDUCE Your Persuasiveness?<div>It’s that time of year again—the very beginning of it. In all likelihood, this means that you recently considered a variety of potential New Year’s Resolutions, ranging from getting that promotion to losing weight to spending more time with your family. But there’s one potential resolution that, should you fulfill it, might actually make you less persuasive. What is it?<br /><br />According to social psychologists Cory Scherer and Brad Sagarin, giving up swearing in the New Year could actually make you less persuasive. The researchers hypothesized that when people pepper their speech with an occasional obscenity, the audience perceives an increase in the speaker’s intensity. Moreover, this boost in the perceived passion and enthusiasm of the speaker ultimately makes the speech more persuasive. </div><div><br /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294337558465261778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SXlD9XVUsNI/AAAAAAAAC1k/kZUZoMDo1XI/s400/passion.gif" border="0" /><br /></div><div>To test this idea, Scherer and Sagarin had participants watch a video of a five-minute long persuasive speech. For half of the participants, the speaker used the relatively tame swear phrase “Damn it!” once during the speech. For the other half of participants, the speech was exactly the same, except the swear phrase was omitted. Once the speech was over, participants were asked about their attitudes toward the topic addressed in the speech. Consistent with predictions, the data revealed not only that the speaker was viewed as more passionate about the topic when profanity was used than when it was not, but also that the former was more persuasive than the latter.<br /><br />Does this mean that you should call up your clients and start filling your sales pitch with four-letter words? Of course not. First, the swear words used in this research were clearly very timid by modern standards. Second, the research also suggests that profanity is most likely to be effective when the audience is already generally in agreement with you, but you want to push them even more toward your point of view.<br /><br />Still, these results should give pause to anyone considering completely abolishing profanity from their vocabulary in 2009: If you go through with it and eliminate even the tame swear words, you may find yourself breaking that very resolution—and cursing yourself out—the next time you fail to be persuasive.<br /><br /><strong>Source:</strong><br />Scherer, C. R., &amp; Sagarin, B. J. (2006). Indecent influence: The positive effects of obscenity on persuasion. Social Influence, 1, 138-146. </div>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-2190120901263044412009-01-11T21:11:00.000-08:002009-01-11T21:38:05.160-08:00How could a tiny seed create a huge tree?Its common to say that trees come from seeds. But how could a tiny seed create a huge tree? Seeds do not contain the resources needed to grow a tree. These must come from the medium or environment within which the tree grows. But the seed does provide something that is crucial: a place where the whole of the tree starts to form. As resources such as water &amp; nutrients are drawn in, the seed organizes the process that generates growth.<br /><br /><br />In a sense, the seed is a gateway through which the future possibility of the living tree emerges.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290275431043890290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SWrVebdY_HI/AAAAAAAACqk/BMuQi1fh8dE/s400/presence.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p> </p><strong>Source:</strong> Presence- Human Purpose and the field of the future: Peter Senge &amp; othersShibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-74088869530486822712009-01-05T03:26:00.000-08:002009-01-05T03:39:56.786-08:00Initiative: An important factor for transformational leadershipThere was an interesting article in <strong>TOI, 04 Jan 2008.</strong><br />It spoke of this interesting factor called <strong>'initiative'.</strong> Its one of the most important factors for a transformational leader. It can result in innovations which can bring about a radical change in whatever we do.<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Students design car that runs on water<br /></strong>B’lore Collegians Develop Vehicle With Mileage Of <strong>500 Km A Litre<br /></strong>Bangalore: Imagine a car that vrooms 500 km on a litre of fuel, which has water as an important component. Students of RV College of Engineering here have built a prototype of an energy-efficient, eco-friendly vehicle that can dodge the twin crises of global warming and exhaustion of renewable energy resources. Various corporate giants have expressed interest in the project, with GE stepping in to financially support initial research costs and provide them with light and state-of-the-art polymers for the car’s aerodynamic shell. “Our first prototype released in August last year delivered a mileage of 180 kmpl. The new vehicle is being touted as the most fuel-efficient vehicle in India,’’ said Aashay Sahay, a team member of Project Garuda RVCE Supermileage that has masterminded the project. This car uses the principle of extracting hydrogen and converting it into gaseous form that can be injected into the engine, significantly revving up its fuel efficiency. The entire procedure is performed through a speciallydesigned hydrolyser kit and when perfected, this innovation could be applied to all cars and bikes to nearly double their mileage. Work on this front is guided by Vineet Engineering from Pune. The young team is confident that such a system can later help a vehicle run completely on water.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287771472686485906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 349px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 185px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SWHwI3rsEZI/AAAAAAAACo4/EZRZLceyWPg/s400/getimage.jpg" border="0" />WATER WHEELS: Bangalore college students with their fuel-efficient car </p><p>Another system that has enhanced efficiency is the use of a fuel injector guided by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU). These ensure that the vehicle draws optimum fuel as it is calibrated along various power curves. The project has been nominated for the Rotary Young Achievers Award 2008. “Our dream is to enter it in two international competitions—the SAE Supermileage in Michigan next June and the Shell Eco-Marathon in the United Kingdom next July,’’ said a spokesperson. How water drives this machine Explaining the mechanism that drives the car, a scientist said: “When you hydrolyse water, hydrogen is separated from oxygen. The separated hydrogen is then injected into the engine in gaseous form which will be the fuel to run the vehicle. The use of hydrogen as gas could lead to the possible enhancement of mileage. If hydrogen is extracted from water, it becomes a fuel form.” </p>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-90727260044636108292008-12-28T20:28:00.000-08:002008-12-29T04:27:03.421-08:00Arrange to exchangeIn this time of the year, often called “The Season of Giving,” it is worthwhile to consider certain aspects of the giving process that can lead to desirable outcomes, not just with family and friends but also with colleagues and coworkers.<br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285186806703257938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SVjBZgkg-VI/AAAAAAAACoQ/MH7HIudGGKw/s400/dilbert_xmas_1024x768.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />Research has long demonstrated the value of a generous spirit. After providing gifts, favors, services, or assistance to others, we become more liked, more appreciated, and even physically healthier. What’s more, those who have received from us typically stand ready to repay when we need something from them. This last benefit flows from the rule for reciprocation, which prescribes the willingness of people to pay back the form of behavior they have received. All human societies install this rule in their members from childhood for a simple reason: It confers great competitive advantages on a group it by encouraging profitable exchanges, mutually beneficial tradeoffs between group members in vital arenas of interaction such as commerce, defense, and care. In the workplace, this means that if you’ve complied with my request for help with one of my projects—let’s say by providing effort, resources, special information, etc.—I should be significantly more willing to comply with a request for help that you might make of me later on a project that’s important to you.<br /><br />With so many of the reasons for being a giver securely in the plus column, it would be easy to think that a large amount of giving on the job is a sure route to success there. Alas, human psychology is almost never so simple. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, even in the case of assistance. Take as evidence, a study done by Frances Flynn now at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, who examined the consequences of favor-doing among employees at a large telecommunications firm. He measured the number of favors that workers did for one another along with a pair of noteworthy consequences. The first was the effect of favor-doing on the giver’s social status within the organization—the giver’s perceived worth to the company in the eyes of his or her coworkers. As we might have expected, those employees rated as more generous with their time, energy, and assistance were seen as more valuable. Achieving acknowledged social status in the workplace is no small feat and is a testament to the interpersonal gains that come from being a prodigious giver.<br /><br />But the second consequence of giving that Flynn examined, productivity on the job, did not paint so sunny a picture. Eight measures of individual productivity, including assessments of both the quantity and quality of assigned work, showed that those employees with the highest rated levels of assistance were significantly less productive than their colleagues. Why? Because they were so busy lending aid to others’ projects that they were unable to pay sufficient attention to their own.<br /><br />What are we to make of this state of affairs? If being a particularly openhanded giver on the job results in high social status but simultaneously reduces one’s personal productivity on assigned tasks, what are we best advised to do? It turns out that there is a clear answer, one that emerged from another component of Flynn’s study. It identified a single factor that amplified both social status and individual productivity. As we’ve seen, that optimizing factor wasn’t the number of favors done. Instead, it was the number of favors exchanged. Employees who first provided beneficial aid on coworkers’ projects and then got beneficial aid in return maximized the profitable effects of the giving process—not just for themselves but for all concerned—by rating high on status and production. Recall, this outcome is very much in keeping with the rule for reciprocity that is vital to all successful groups precisely because it fosters mutually advantageous exchanges.<br /><br />The implications of these results for each of us are clear. First, we should be liberal and proactive givers on the job. If we aren’t vigorous prime movers in the process, we can’t boost the number of favor exchanges that are so central to double-barreled success in the workplace . Second, and just as importantly, we should characterize our assistance in ways that heighten the likelihood that it will be reciprocated fully. How can we do that? I have three suggestions for possible such characterizations, each to be offered upon receiving thanks for our aid from the recipient. We could reply:<br /><br />1. “I was happy to help because I know how valuable it would be to get your help if I ever need it.”<br />2. “You’re welcome. It’s what colleagues do for one another.”<br />3. “Of course. I know that if the situation were ever reversed, you’d do the same for me.”<br />In sum, the key to optimizing the giving process in the workplace is to arrange for exchange, which involves two-steps: (1) giving favors first and (2) being sure to verbally position the favors as part of a natural and equitable reciprocal arrangement. By the way, if you found this article to be helpful, please let me say [chose here from 1-3 above].<br /><br /><strong>Source:</strong> Flynn, F. J. (2003). How much should I give and how often? The effects of generosity and frequency of favor exchange on social status and productivity. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 539-553.</div>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-53811949174412422452008-10-15T23:13:00.000-07:002008-10-15T23:18:51.420-07:00Influence techniques: Who should throw the first punch<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SPbcZwOFywI/AAAAAAAABPM/Io4aqZ3z_c0/s1600-h/influence+1.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257631950000474882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 405px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 147px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="143" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SPbcZwOFywI/AAAAAAAABPM/Io4aqZ3z_c0/s320/influence+1.gif" width="363" border="0" /></a> <div> </div><div>Sometimes the first few minutes at the negotiating table are like the first few minutes in the boxing ring: Both opponents often dance around, reluctant to put themselves out there first. Just as some boxers are reluctant to throw the first punch, negotiators are often reluctant to put the first offer on the table. They may be worried that they will telegraph their strategy, or perhaps that they will reveal some sort of vulnerability. Are they right? Is it better to make the first persuasive move or let your opponent do so?<br /><br />According to social psychologists Adam Galinsky and Thomas Mussweiler, <strong>you’re far better off making the first offer in a negotiation rather than letting your counterpart make the first offer.</strong> In a series of experiments, the researchers found that regardless of the person’s role in the negotiation (e.g. buyer or seller), negotiators who were given instructions to make the first offer obtained a superior outcome. For example, in one experiment, when parties looking to buy a factory made the first offer, the sellers ultimately agreed to a price of $19.7 million. On the other hand, when parties looking to sell the same factory made the first offer, the buyers ultimately agreed to a price of $24.8 million.<br /><br /><strong>The reason for this effect is that the negotiator who makes the initial offer “anchors” the other party onto his or her numbers</strong>. This means that even though the other party should ideally determine the value of the negotiated items independent of the numbers provided by the initial offer, they don’t. Instead, they anchor, as a starting point, on the initial numbers provided by their counterpart and insufficiently adjust away from those numbers when they continue the negotiation. So, an initial offer of $30 million might result in a settlement of approximately $25 million, whereas an initial offer of $15 million might result in a settlement of approximately $20 million.<strong> Keep in mind, though, that if one’s initial offer is ridiculously unrealistic, getting it out there on the table first won’t be of much help to you, as your opponents are unlikely to take you as a serious negotiating partner.<br /></strong><br /><strong>In sum, this research demonstrates that it’s most beneficial to make the initial offer</strong>. If you fail to do so and let your opponent throw that first punch, you may find yourself down and out within a few minutes of the opening bell.<br /><br /><strong>Source: </strong>Galinsky, A. D., &amp; Mussweiler, T. (2001). First offers as anchors: The role of perspective-taking and negotiator focus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 657-669.</div>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-76106515666199622232008-09-09T21:29:00.000-07:002008-09-09T22:22:21.338-07:00How to improve feedback effectivenessGiving &amp; receiving feedback is a learnt behaviour. Simply put, it needs to be learnt :-)<br /><br /><p>A couple of years back, a summer intern (who got a PPO with L&amp;T, based on her work on feedback processes) had prepared a note, which was based on a detailed study culled out from a 100 odd research papers on the subject. With time (and inclination), its a read worth the effort!!</p><p> </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244256708457679362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="123" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SMdXsOqUSgI/AAAAAAAABBM/aPGUwAhnCMA/s320/Value+adding.jpeg.bmp" width="351" border="0" /></p><p>----------------------------------------------------</p><p align="left">Feedback forms an important part of Superior-Subordinate relationships in an organisation. Feedback gives employees a chance to realize the good and the bad about their performance and gives them guidance about how to improve things further. Feedback may be defined as “information about past behavior, delivered in the present, which may influence future behavior.” Also feedback is indispensable for morale, development and growth. Negative feedback tells you about the areas of improvement and positive feedback gives you confirmation about which behaviors to continue and strengthen further. Studies say that the most important purpose of feedback is “uncertainty reduction” and the three most important consequences of uncertainty are:<br /><br />- Role Ambiguity: Is the role for your subordinate clear?<br />- Stress: Do you have a buffer? Does your employee get time for self development?<br />- Thoughts about leaving the job: An employee leaves a boss, not the organization.<br /><br />When it comes to giving feedback, style is as important as substance. And for a final appraisal discussion, it is best that the superiors are thoroughly prepared. Preparation determines the substance of the interaction you have. </p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244256711227526178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 401px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="130" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SMdXsY-szCI/AAAAAAAABBU/hasW0yc_zcY/s320/boss+subordinate+1.gif" width="372" border="0" /><br /><strong>The Substance:</strong><br /><br />Preparation will help you be data based and in quoting specific examples while talking to individuals. The following framework can be helpful to people while preparing for a feedback discussion:<br /><br />1. <strong>Observations:</strong> neutral facts and occurrences. These should be the focal point of your discussion. They make feedback “Real” for an employee and give him/her a chance to clarify.<br />2. <strong>Assessments:</strong> personal interpretations of a set of observed behavior. This is different from an observation because it is a value judgment based on your feelings and thoughts.<br />3. <strong>Consequences: </strong>possible or certain effects of continued behavior.<br />4. <strong>Development:</strong> suggestions for improvement.<br /><br /><strong>The style:</strong><br /><br />It is best if feedback is one to one, is done in an atmosphere which is relaxed and where you can have a little privacy. Communicate by your words, body language and tone of your voice that your intention is to be helpful while giving feedback. Also the subordinate can be told about the meeting beforehand, so that the discussion can be informed and productive for both parties. In the following lines we will try to throw some light on the style as in the “delivery” of the feedback discussion.<br /><br />1. <strong>Be focused on the behavior of the person and not the person himself:</strong> while providing feedback to an individual, be careful that you are not judgmental about the person!!! Do not criticize the person with statements like “you have a short temper”. Rather tell the person what effect his behavior has on other people.<br />2. <strong>Be data based and specific:</strong> when you provide facts to an individual about his behavior and results, it will help him make a proper strategy to improve his behavior. Here is where your preparation for the discussion will come handy!<br />3. <strong>Be prompt:</strong> feedback should be timely. It works best if it is immediately after an event, which deserves feedback from you. Also the timing should be such that the person receiving it must be in a situation to receive and implement it.<br />4. <strong>Give precise instructions on how to improve:</strong> if you do not tell the person in very clear terms, exactly what he should do to improve his performance, the person may end up feeling even more confused. Generally we find that superiors give either one-liners or 10 different angles to look at the situation. But do not tell what the correct angle, which will be most effective in this situation, is.<br />5. <strong>Have recipient’s personality in mind:</strong> When delivering criticism, it's more important to focus on what somebody will hear rather than what you will say. A lot depends on the individual who is getting the information. If you know that an individual hears best when you use words like 'we,' then use words like 'we' when providing criticism. If you know the person hears best when focusing on one criticism, rather than a laundry list of three or four criticisms, then simply give one and spend time describing it and what the expectations are.<br />6. <strong>Praise the individual’s strength:</strong> feedback should motivate and there are few better motivators than being told that you are a wonderful person. But when you have to deliver negative feedback, avoid good-bad-good feedback sandwich. It does not appear like genuine advice.<br />7. <strong>Reinforce positive new behavior:</strong> when a person is trying to make a change in their behavior as a result of feedback, make it a point to tell them you appreciate the efforts.<br />8. <strong>Suggest the changes the person should make:</strong> take care that you do not sound like issuing orders or the person will lose motivation to make the changes. And discuss what resources the individual requires to make the same. Ask him/her where you can be of help to the individual.<br />9. <strong>Pay attention to constraints:</strong> take the constraints of the individual into account while giving him feedback. But do not try to be too considerate by telling the person that his results were due completely to areas beyond his control. It will diminish the urge to learn and improve further. Always give a balanced picture by acknowledging the constraints but also stating alongside what he could have done to minimize these effects.<br />10. <strong>Always offer the individual a chance to respond:</strong> it is very important to make the person feel that it is an open discussion and he will be heard. It will help in not putting the person on defensive and he will see your point of view. </p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244256715691581330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SMdXspnA35I/AAAAAAAABBc/TJ3a3IYh74Y/s320/boss+suord+relations.bmp" border="0" /><br />11. <strong>Be continuous:</strong> feedback works best when it establishes a relationship of trust and openness. When you keep reinforcing the feedback the person feels comfortable to discuss further problems and issues.<br /><br />A very important prerequisite of an effective feedback is that your subordinate has very clear idea of what is expected out of him. This will be determined by the quality of goal setting at the beginning of the appraisal period. Now we will focus upon when to deliver positive or negative feedback.<br /><br /><strong>Feedback – positive or negative…?<br /></strong><br />If feedback focuses attention of an individual on the self-concept of the person, where a person has ideas about what kind of a person he or she is, then negative feedback can be dangerous. Lets take the example of an accounts officer whose capability to handle numbers expertly is very close to his self-concept. If he is told that a recent report he did was lacking in accuracy and the analysis wasn’t good either, the person may start feeling that he is not good enough to be in accounts rather than correcting the problem and working for improvement next time. So the best thing to do here is to tell the person how he can go about making a better report and what you would have done if you were in his place.<br /><br /><strong>How to handle difficult situations?<br /></strong>There are cases when the appraisal situation is not an ordinary situation. Examples of these situations could be many. The normal approach in such situations will not be helpful to you or your subordinate in such situations. Here are a few suggestions on how to go about these.<br />· <strong>The Distant Subordinate</strong><br />Managers are often paced in situations of having to accurately assess the performance of someone they don’t see very often. So how do they go about appraising this person fairly? Often managers think that it is their problem to figure out a way to do so. The solution suggested is that they should make it the subordinate’s job. Ask them to come up with a plan to for both of you so that you can assess his/her performance correctly. It will be much easier for you to give feedback now.<br />· <strong>The technically-superior subordinate<br /></strong>The idea here is to make ‘teaching the boss’ about whatever the subordinate is superior at, as one of the KRAs of that year. By the end, not only will the boss have accumulated sufficient knowledge, he would also be in a position to appraise the subordinate better on this KRA. The feedback can be a mutual discussion process where you find out the best way to proceed forward. </p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244256706094148482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 362px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="130" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SMdXsF2zq4I/AAAAAAAABBE/Vp64xSBAZ94/s320/feedback+5.bmp" width="340" border="0" /><br />· <strong>The older, highly experienced subordinate</strong><br />The key here is to avoid any kind of small talk and get straight to the point. Whenever you are interacting with a very experienced professional, you definitely have to keep in mind that the person has experience, but you also have to be careful that you don’t become too deferring to the individual.<br />· <strong>Dealing with unrealistic expectations<br /></strong>The hardest situation is when the person in question has unrealistic opinion about his or her own performance. And actually they are not very great performers. The key is not to let this person build a defense mechanism to defend their opinion. Therefore do not discuss your agenda with such people beforehand. Break the news in the meeting itself and get to the point straight.<br /><br />. <strong>Coping with defensiveness<br /></strong><br />Defensiveness comes in two flavors: fight or flight. The fight response is easiest to spot. The subordinate might raise their voice and point fingers. Or they may just fold their arms across their chest and stare. Whereas flight is a more difficult challenge to spot and pick up. Instead of shouting and voicing his/her opinion, the subordinate may just quiet down and look away. And speak more slowly. Also the information expected might be lesser than you would reasonably expect. The mistake we make is that we may feel that this person has understood all that had to be said, where all that person is trying to do is to bring that distressing situation to an end as soon as possible.<br /><br />The best way to deal with defensiveness is to spot it and accept that it is a natural human response. So let people vent out their feelings and agree with what they say. Agreement is a very potent weapon. And do not forget to acknowledge the person’s feelings. Use the exact words: “if I am understanding you correctly, you feel hurt/betrayed/disappointed…” And then suggest what you have to say about the whole situation.<br /><br />. <strong>Focus on choices<br /></strong><br />Think a little beforehand what could be the possible solutions to the problem that exists. And give the subordinate the solutions.<br /><br />. <strong>The ultimate solution<br /></strong><br />Always deliver a core message whenever you are interacting with your subordinate in this manner. The core message is the single most important thing that you want to communicate to your employee. This is helpful when your subordinate is removed from the place you are, is technically superior and all other cases we discussed. If this is clear, a lot of discussion difficulties will take care of themselves.<br /><br /><strong>Barriers to effective feedback<br /></strong>· When there is imbalance of power, influence, and decision-making<br />· When people feel as if they are competing with each other<br />· When employees are afraid of asking for feedback about their behavior, because they don't want to uncover errors that might cause them embarrassment or loss of face.<br />· When one or both parties may think the feedback is unnecessary and they have nothing to learn from each other.<br />· When both people might think that someone else is going to provide the feedback data.<br /><br /><strong>Barriers Affecting Groups:</strong><br />· When there is a perceived imbalance of power between groups that have different levels of experience or seniority, or between team leaders and team members.<br />· In self-directed work teams and other types of work groups, diversity issues and acculturation of new group members may interfere with effective feedback.<br />· When open feedback exchanges are simply not an accepted practice in meetings and interactions.<br /><br /><strong>Myths about feedback:</strong><br />These myths are the ideas that managers sometimes tend to have about a feedback process. It hinders an open and honest feedback.<br />1. My Reality is <strong><em>the</em></strong> reality, and my job is to get you to see it.<br />The astute managers realize the fact that their reality is a partial reality and while they are carrying their feedback meetings, they lay more emphasis on getting it right by mutual exchange of views rather than in being right all the time.<br />2. Defensiveness is<strong> <em>bad</em></strong><em> </em>and should be avoided at all costs.<br />When your subordinates get defensive, don’t take it as something bad that has happened to your efforts. You are telling them something about themselves and if they feel that you are not seeing things their way or not taking into consideration their constraints, they’ll continue to be defensive. So the better way is to listen to what they have to say and then tell them how they can figure out a better solution next time.<br />3. The performance problem has <strong><em>nothing to do with me.<br /></em></strong>When you ask questions like “ To what extent have I made it difficult to complete the project on time?” or “Is there anything I could be doing differently?” chances are, you may get to hear what you need to learn.<br />4. Mistakes are <strong><em>crimes</em></strong> to be covered up, punished, or both.<br />People are so scared of the fact that their mistakes will be discovered and they will be punished for it. In fact the right attitude is to make most out of the mistakes. It is not humanely possible after all, to not make mistakes.<br /><br />--------------------------------------------<br />Ultimately any feedback process rests on the premise that there is a desire on the parts of both the superior and the subordinate to improve on a continuous basis and that more so, it is the superior who will be able to use his better judgment to assess the personality of his subordinate, as he is the giver in this interaction, and temper his feedback accordingly.<br /><br />It is a sincere hope that the above thoughts will help you give a better shape and content to your feedback this time and will contribute to further enriching your relationship with your subordinate and vice-versa!</p>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-27611760058796699482008-08-21T19:47:00.000-07:002008-08-21T20:24:58.403-07:00Success story contestOne of the measures, which has a significant impact on employee engagement is<strong> appreciation</strong>.<br /><br />I would like you to reflect for a moment... and think if you have appreciated your direct reports in the recent past. A more appropriate question would be 'have you given them an opportunity to do something to be appreciated for'?<br /><br />Let me share some data of the impact of employee engagement on a factor like productivity! In a research study, it was found that<br /><ul><li><strong>Engaged employees produced 28 percent more revenue than their actively disengaged peers!! </strong></li><li>Employee engagement also affects the <strong>mindset</strong> of people. Engaged employees believe that they can make a <strong>difference</strong> in the organizations they work for. Confidence in the knowledge, skills, and abilities that people possess – in both themselves and others – is a powerful <strong>predictor of behavior and subsequent performance</strong>. </li></ul><br />Let me throw some more data at you: A Towers Perrin survey cited the following:<br /><ul><li>Eighty-four percent of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact the quality of their organization’s products, compared with only 31 percent of the disengaged</li><br /><li>Seventy-two percent of highly engaged employees believe they can positively affect customer service, versus 27 percent of the disengaged</li><br /><li>Sixty-eight percent of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact costs in their job or unit, compared with just 19 percent of the disengaged.</li></ul>Why this <strong>preamble</strong>? Well, its to encourage you to inturn encourage your people to <strong>participate in the 'Success story contest'</strong>!! Its an opportunity for them to do something that you can really appreciate, there is a bonus financial/non-financial implication for the winners!!<br /><br />The <strong>winners get 25,000, 15,000 for the second team, and 10,000 for the third team.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237176110908430018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="151" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SK4v7NTb1sI/AAAAAAAAA-8/CpqJl04XwWw/s320/attitude+is+a+decision.jpg" width="151" border="0" /><br /><p>So, what's your call? Inspire them to participate or maintain status quo. The proverbial ball is in <strong>your</strong> court.</p><p>Comments welcome.</p>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-42789223443475509522008-08-20T21:46:00.000-07:002008-08-21T05:56:46.142-07:00Statistics is funny!!<div align="left">I had posted a poll a fortnight back. The poll question was 'In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?'<br /><br /><strong>Results:</strong> 100% polled have been appreciated by their superiors.<br /><br /><strong>Inferences: </strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">1. Wow!! Everything seems hunky dory in the L&amp;T Financial Services setup!!Appreciation/engagement levels are very high here!!</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">2. If you look deeper, there were only two employees who participated :-)</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">3. Probabalities: </div><div align="left"> a) The others did not want to participate</div><div align="left"> b) The others were not appreciated</div><div align="left"> c) The past few days have been really busy</div><p>I think I will go with option 'c'. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236872256233433090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 376px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 116px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="112" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SK0bkibkaAI/AAAAAAAAA-U/CvmUtE0fpI4/s320/stats+pic.gif" width="364" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236873860126039202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 390px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="123" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VUGSYjf64/SK0dB5ZXXKI/AAAAAAAAA-k/Cbu3npVUvjY/s320/dilbert2007036656406.gif" width="361" border="0" /> <p></p><p>And yes, statistics is funny!</p>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834543817616883309.post-27733217797593367642008-08-11T20:32:00.001-07:002008-08-12T03:56:57.186-07:00Transformational leadershipTransformational leaders--the leaders who really touch others' lives and transform them totally--are charismatic and inspiring, and they create excitement at work. They motivate others to do much more than what anyone thought was possible. Transformational leadership results in performance par excellence at all levels of the organization. On the other hand, leadership that is characterized merely by transactions or exchanges--promise and reward for good performance, or threat and discipline for poor performance--is a prescription for mediocrity.<br /><br />Transformational leaders also handle change more effectively by generating in their followers an awareness and acceptance of the purposes and mission of the group. They are also able to stir their followers to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group.<br /><br />Transformational leadership is a mutually stimulating relationship that elevates both leader and follower to higher levels of human conduct and ethical aspiration, and lift themselves into their better selves.<br /><br />Comments are invited.<br /><br /><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.rkvenkat.org/">http://www.rkvenkat.org/</a>Shibuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917127825231601902noreply@blogger.com2